Local theater picks and pans

ALBANY -- No one can deny that reading Jane Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice" can be a daunting experience. It's a rewarding experience for sure, but it is certainly hard work to keep up with the various characters, their relationships and romances.

However, if you want to experience the essence of the masterwork without putting in all the work, attend the joyous production of "Pride@Prejudice" playing at Capital Repertory Theater through Oct. 28.

It's a work that respectfully captures the essence of the book while having a fun time admitting the difficult nature of the source material.

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One of the great things about the production is you don't have to know anything about the book to enjoy the show. The stage version takes great pains to be sure the audience is kept up to date on each character and the situation.

The production breaks all rules. Actors will step out of character to ask the audience a question about the novel. If no answer is forthcoming they find the answer on a smart phone pulled from inside their costumes.

Playwright Daniel Elihu Kramer has written a piece that pays homage to the original as well as its history.

If you've never read "Pride and Prejudice," if you have no desire to read "Pride and Prejudice," and even if you don't like the writing of Jane Austen, do get to see "Pride@Prejudice" at Capital Rep. It's a fun show that respects the intelligence of its audience.

HUDSON -- StageWorks in Hudson has earned a reputation for producing bold theater.

On the surface, "The Rivalry" is a historical drama that recreates the pre-Civil War debates of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Remarkably, what might be dry academic theater becomes compelling drama that makes you realize all history is relevant to the present.

What makes "The Rivalry" contemporary is it shows how an issue about which there can be no compromise can affect the course of history for more than a century. It makes the point that the most divisive political issues are those based on cultural, social and religious customs.

When the debates begin, both Lincoln and Douglas see the issue of slavery as a social and moral issue, as well as a political problem. As the men continue their state-wide journey their passions and the mood of the country increases in intensity with name calling and character defamation, it becomes clear that the issue is no longer slavery but the fate of the Union.

If you believe that theater is about the importance of discourse, then you should not miss "The Rivalry."

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- Anyone one who has read "Lord of the Flies" will always remember the chilling terror of the William Golding work. Indeed, the novel questioning how young men would behave if isolated from civilized society has so impacted our culture that the title has become a catch phrase for the breakdown of social norms during which group turns against group.

A rare stage version "Lord of the Flies" is on view at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Mass. The Nigel Williams adaptation is faithful to the source material, but on rare occasions, it lacks the psychological terror of the original.

Ten privileged young men survive a plane crash that leaves them stranded on an isolated island. Almost immediately conflicts arise and a battle for leadership begins. Before long, disagreements become rivalries and rivalries become conflicts. The island becomes a battleground between civilization and barbarianism and the strong begin to oppress the weak.

Oddly, as the hunters become more vicious and their behavior more cruel, the work becomes less interesting because it becomes repetitious and predictable.

The power struggle between the two camps loses it existentialist undercurrent and it becomes a play about extreme bullying more than it is a work about the collapse of civilization.

This is too bad, as the thoughts and lessons in the play are still chillingly timely.

"Lord of the Flies" continues at the Barrington Stage Company, 30 Union St., Pittsfield, Mass., through Oct. 21. Tickets are $15 to $40; call (413) 236-8888 or go to www.barringtonstageco.org